Now, my friend, Fong Kin Man has been pestering asking me to review on my new phone, the Nokia N8 as he was curious to know more about it; and maybe it's because of my crude honesty that he knows I won't be blowing trumpets or bull shits! Whatever it is, I wanna tell him that "Fong, no matter how crude I am, I just can't review a gizmo!! The technical terms just kills me! I would love to be a tech junkie but somehow it's not my calling and I need time to learn.... :P"
But anyhow, I've found a great review about the Nokia N8 on the web! The blogger, Alvin was at first sceptical and totally hates the N8 if compared to his favourite iPhone 4! Somehow, during the product review period, he changes his mind about the N8 after all. Read on fellow followers! This is to you, Fong! :)
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Nokia N8: I want one after all
by Alvin
My #N8Productions entry isn’t near completion yet. Yes, I should probably hurry – the N8 goes back on Thursday and I won’t be able to create any more content. And truth be told, I’m going to be rather sad when I hand the package back to the DHL guy. I know I’ve changed my mind about the N8, and all my gripes about it not feeling fresh and lacking any major improvements in user experience don’t really matter after all, at least out in the real world.
Frankly, the N8 is aimed at a different audience as opposed to the iPhone or the dizzying array of Android devices out there. And that’s perfectly fine. Smartphones don’t all have to cater to the people who’d be likely to choose an iPhone over anything else. To put it simply, I cannot imagine anyone switching from an iPhone to the N8, and neither can I envision the N8 winning over a single iPhone user out there. And the reason for that is simple. While the N8 remains lacking in terms of user interface polish, ease-of-use, pretty apps and cohesive, integrated user experience, the iPhone remains equally lacking in terms of imaging prowess, advanced features, customizability and even versatility as a converged device. In my opinion, the main reason why the N8 has been slammed so much by certain US-based established blogs (cough, cough…) is because the reviewers contributing to those blogs have no understanding of who the N8 is aimed at, or even the reasons why folks continue to buy Symbian devices when there are, in their opinion, much better choices out there. Furthermore, most of those reviewers would be using iPhones to begin with, leading to them declaring that the N8 is a shit phone simply because it has zero similarities when compared with their favourite fruity device.
No device is ever perfect. I admit I haven’t ever met a disappointed iPhone user, but I could find tons of reasons why the iPhone is a shit phone if I really wanted to. I still stand by my statements in my impressions post that the N8 does need a revolution in the form of a fresh new user interface focused on ease-of-use and a less head-scratching, more enjoyable user experience, but it would be wrong to dismiss the N8 merely on those grounds. The N8 has the potential to be one amazing device. It’s completely amazed me over the past few days. You’ve just got to look past the user interface, at least for now. Maybe it won’t be such a big deal when you consider the fact that:
1. Not every smartphone has to emulate the iPhone
2. In the real world, user interface and user experience isn’t such a big deal for most people
3. It is possible to get used to various user interfaces, even the most clunky and quirky examples around
With that in mind, the N8 doesn’t look so bad after all. For starters, its imaging capabilities are beyond praise. It is, without a doubt, the best cameraphone that money can buy today. Image quality in just about every situation is nothing short of superb, and its low-light performance is miles ahead of any other cameraphone. The N8′s camera has stunned me time and again with what it could achieve in the couple of photoshoots I did with it in Melaka and by the Singapore River, and I couldn’t possibly imagine myself ever needing a dedicated compact camera if the N8 served as my everyday phone. I know this paragraph is beginning to sound like an advertisement, but I can’t help it. The N8 is simply amazing in this regard.
So the camera app could do with a complete user interface revamp, but when I was out taking photos the user interface didn’t bother me in the least. I daresay it won’t really bother you either. You’ll be too pleased with your results to really nitpick about how menu options in the camera app still require double-tapping.
Another aspect of the N8 that really struck me was how versatile it is as a smartphone. The built-in USB Host functionality allows for the connection of standard USB peripherals such as flash drives and mice and keyboards through an adapter connected to the microUSB port on the device. What other device, apart from the N8 and its sister Symbian^3 devices, can you think of that comes with this feature? Of course, the fly in the ointment here is that an adapter(included in the N8′s package, by the way) is required for this to work, but it’s undeniably cool and might even have some rather valid real-world applications. Just the other day, I plugged my flash drive into the USB input on my DVD player with the intention of playing a movie off it, but apparently the movie’s file format was not supported by the player. No issue at all – out comes the N8, a TV-out cable and the USB Host adapter, and the N8 played through the full 120-minute long movie successfully and even had 50% battery left at the end of it all. N8 1, DVD Player 0.
It’s not just USB Host that’s worth having around – the N8 also has a built-in FM transmitter that became tremendously useful during the drive up to Melaka. No radio stations? No CD collection in the car? Loads of music in the N8 that you’d like to play wirelessly over the car stereo? No problem – the FM transmitter worked perfectly with the N8 providing hours and hours of aural enjoyment during the drive. Your friend’s iPhone couldn’t possibly do that without an add-on accessory that costs extra.
When you consider these 2 features on the Nokia N8 alongside true multitasking, filesystem access, microSD expansion on top of 16GB of internal memory, support for Bluetooth keyboards and mice, unrestricted sideloading of apps, support for Bluetooth file transfers, built-in 3G videocalling, themes, profiles and support for both HD and SD TV-out through HDMI and the 3.5mm jack respectively, the N8 appears to be almost a computer in your pocket; not just a mere smartphone that excels in just a few specific areas. The N8 is a fine example of a truly versatile, converged device, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it having a slightly greater learning curve when it packs in so much more functionality than more user-friendly but also more limited alternatives. I mean, folks can learn, can’t they?
I mentioned all the other positives of the N8 in my impressions post, so I won’t run through them again here. It’s true that the N8 does have several flaws and foibles, but almost all of them are software-based and might be fixed eventually. New Symbian is supposed to iterate and evolve much faster than before, so I’ve got renewed hope regarding the future relevance of the platform. In many ways, New Symbian on the N8 is a stepping stone to the true revolution; it’s something to keep existing users happy and solve the problems that plagued S60v5. Since it’s a mere starting point towards what’s to come, all the clunkiness of the current, legacy user interface can be forgiven, somewhat. Furthermore, Nokia resuming complete control over Symbian development can only be a positive sign; ditto for the focus around QT as a platform for app development. And the N8 will definitely benefit from all these efforts together with its sister New Symbian devices. Regarding the few hardware flaws, the only one that really stands out is the lack of a lens cover. Nokia has justified this omission numerous times through its PR channels but constantly wiping the N8′s Carl Zeiss lens on my shirt before taking a shot sort of gets old after a while. And of course, many would have loved to see a removable battery. However, the N8′s stamina is definitely commendable – it lasted 2 days with moderate use for me. I just wish the microUSB port weren’t so awkwardly placed.
Would I recommend the N8? Yes, definitely, to anyone who wants the most cutting-edge Symbian smartphone available today, or wants stellar camera performance both for stills and video, or wants a device that isn’t arbitrarily limited in terms of raw functionality and capabilities. Do I want one? Ohh yes. Unfortunately, I have to admit I’m loving the N8 – it isn’t the sleekest or slickest device around but it does everything I could possibly want my smartphone to do and does it without fuss. Now that there is a solution available to allow for the reinstallation of the Ovi Store client after a hard-reset, it isn’t really an issue for me anymore. This issue shouldn’t have occurred in the first place, but as long as there’s a workaround, all is good.
While typing my impressions post, I felt rather sad that my expectations of its user experience hadn’t really been met and I was feeling completely bored with it. As I type the last words of this post, I’m still feeling rather sad. The N8 has to go back to WOMWorld/Nokia this Thursday. Oh boy. I’ll really miss this device.
I want a N8. In orange. Please?
See the results of the Melaka and Singapore River photoshoots over on my Flickr page here and here.
Thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia for hooking me up with a #N8Productions pack and giving me the opportunity to participate in an exciting competition and blog about an excellent phone, all at the same time.More great reviews on mobile phones are available here at: http://phonecentral.wordpress.com/
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